Chapter 10
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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: FusionX
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Today, there were two pieces of good news.
One was that I received a reward for completing the mission.
The contents were canned food, bread, and meat.
In the current situation, such proper food was worth its weight in gold.
Of course, I had a lot of food, but I had no intention of eating it directly. Because those were things that the Time Stop Breeding Uncle had stolen from other people and hoarded.
After cursing the Time Stop Breeding Uncle so much, I would eat the food he stole myself?
No matter how you looked at it, it seemed hypocritical.
But I couldnât just throw away the precious food either.
So, I distributed the food that the Time Stop Breeding Uncle had stolen to people who werenât properly receiving rations.
Of course, I couldnât distribute it openly. If they asked where this food came from, I wouldnât have anything to say.
So I stopped time and distributed it secretly. And then, the second piece of news.
âI lost a lot of weight! Hooray!â
In fact, this was the most important news. How should I describe the appearance of the Time Stop Breeding Uncle?
It was exactly double the appearance of the piggy bastards that appeared in a certain comic book.
Of course, it was definitely not a human appearance. It was closer to an orc.
And when Ithat appearance had become my own, I seriously considered committing suicide.
But my hard work until now hadnât been in vain.
I was finally able to overcome that orcish appearance.
Although, I still looked like a middle-aged man with a beer belly.
âThere was a point in suffering for an hour last time.â
What was she called, Gourmet Anieta?
Anyways, It took me a whole hour to kill her.
Thanks to that, I lost a lot of weight.
Basically, the time stop ability consumed a lot of stamina. And, I had used a sword like a literal saw for a whole hour without rest.
Which was extremely difficult.
Frankly, if I didnât have the stamina and know-how from frequent usage of this time stop ability, I probably wouldnât have been able to endure it.
Inevitably, the ability would of released almost instantly.
And if that happened, my death was 100% certain.
As for that guy named Clarence, he mightâve survived. But, he was a rather lucky bastard.
Anyway, because of that fight, I realized my severe lack of skill and trained even harder today as a result.
Even if I couldnât become like Clarence, at the very least, I had to become an ordinary knight.
âUncle! Uncle!â
âWhat?â
âAre you training?â
âNo, Iâm already finished.â
I answered curtly as I put away my sword.
I had to deliberately maintain a stiff way of speaking, or the unique speech pattern of the Time Stop Breeding Uncle would pop out.
At least with this, I could restrain it to some extent.
Unbeknownst to me, the little kid with red hair had approached me and grabbed my sleeve.
This meant that todayâs training ended here.
Even if it wasnât now, I could train later on my own.
Moreover, if I wasnât there, the little kid would be left alone. So, it couldnât be helped.
Honestly, I wondered if this was okay.
I was in a situation where even taking care of myself was overwhelming.
Even though I was acquainted with him, wasnât I doing something I couldnât take responsibility for?
I pondered over it countless times.
âWow, itâs snowing.â
âIs it already winter?â
âUncle! When the snow piles up, letâs make a snowman!â
â...Yeah, letâs do that.â
However, when I saw the little kidâs brightly smiling face, I just thought it didnât matter.
The little kid happily ran around in the snow, and I watched.
âPlease teach me swordsmanship.â
â...???â
Suddenly?
* * *
Waiting was so painful.
Especially if it was a situation where you could only wait endlessly for someone precious to you, the pain was doubled.
The girl knew the pain of waiting all too well.
Her mother had once told her that if she prayed sincerely to God, her wish would surely come true. So the girl prayed.
She prayed and prayed until her hands and feet became numb.
However, in the end, God did not grant the girlâs prayer.
The girlâs parents did not return.
Or rather, they couldnât. The end of the futile waiting was hell.
But theyâd come today.
Theyâd definitely come back today.
She had to wait until today.
Like that, her unrequited feelings grew and devoured her.
And once more, the girl had to wait. Uncle had gone out on a mission.
It was unbelievable.
Could it be, no way, right?
That was right.
Uncle promised.
He would definitely come back.
It was then that the girl realized.
Sitting and praying was ultimately meaningless.
One had to protect what was precious with their own hands.
Otherwise, they would lose everything.
[What are you doing alone?]
[Uncle...?!]
[Yeah, Iâm back.]
The first person to come back, the person who rewarded her waiting. The girl felt her emotions welling up.
In the girlâs heart, there was only uncle now, no one else.
Severe loneliness made one crave attention.
And when you felt the warm warmth you had lost again, you had no choice but to become obsessed with it.
Because you knew coldness far too well.
The girl never wanted to go back to that time again.
That time where she survived alone, prayed futilely, harbored vain filled hopes, and forced herself to live counting the days passed.
âI havenât seen you for several days. Play with me too!â
And the girlâs earnest wish turned into action.
She didnât want anyone to take him away.
She wanted to monopolize him.
But uncle didnât only look at her. It was only natural.
Because uncle was a hero.
The girl knew.
She knew that uncle was distributing firewood and food to other people, including herself.
Then what should she do?
What should she do to make uncle look only at her?
There was a limit to just throwing tantrums. She pondered and pondered. And finally, the girl realized.
She just needed to become strong.
âUncle, can I ask you a favor?â
Uncle was such a kind and cool uncle. But other people didnât know anything about her uncle.
Therefore, the girl wished.
She wished that others would never know.
âPlease teach me swordsmanship.â
When uncle was not there, that time was hell for the girl.
Now that she knew that, the girl no longer hesitated.
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